First Edition Of ‘State Ranking Index For NFSA’ 2022: Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh Emerge as Top 3 States Among General Category States

The first edition of the “State Ranking Index for NFSA: Creating resilient food systems to optimize the delivery of benefits – June 2022“ was released by Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution (MoCA,F&PD), on July 5, 2022, during the Conference of Food Ministers of States and Union Territories(UTs) on “Food Nutrition and Security in India,” which was hosted by the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), MoCA,F&PD.

• The National Food Security Act (NFSA) was enacted on July 5, 2013, and the conference was organized to commemorate the occasion on July 5, 2022.

Objective of NFSA: To deliberate and discuss nutritional security, food security, best practices followed in Public Distribution System (PDS), crop diversification, reforms in PDS and storage sector.

Dignitaries Present at The Conference

The conference was attended by Ms. Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Minister of State (MoS) for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, and Rural Development; Sudhanshu Pandey, Secretary, DFPD; and food ministers and senior officials from eight states.

State Ranking Index for NFSA 2022

i. The State Ranking Index for NFSA 2022 aims to document the status and progress of NFSA and other reform initiatives across India, following consultation with states.

• It emphasises reforms made by States/UTs, fosters cross-learning, and scales up reform actions implemented by all States/UTs.

ii.The 2022 Index is mainly focused on NFSA Distribution and will eventually incorporate procurement and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)Distribution in future.

iii. The Index for ranking States/UTs is based on 3 main pillars that cover the end-to-end implementation of NFSA via the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). The 3 pillars are:

• NFSA— Coverage, targeting and provisions of the Act
• Delivery platform, and
• Nutrition initiatives

Key Facts:

i. India has now become 100% connected under One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC).

• So far, approximately 45 crore transitions have taken place, allowing beneficiaries to collect rations from any State/UT in India.

ii.The Ayushman Bharat Card will be distributed using a digital, Aadhaar-linkedPublic Distribution system. The technique is being used by Uttar Pradesh to distribute Ayushman Bharat cards.

• The immunisation of immigrant children can also be linked with the system to guarantee that they have access to medical facilities.

iii. With respect to the food subsidy to states, the deadline to submit claims for pending dues for the year 2019–20 is August 15, 2022.

• The subsidy claims remain pending as the States/UTs fail to provide relevant data even if the Centre has available funds.
• The non-participating states include Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Nagaland.

Performance of States/UTs

Ranks & Scores Obtained by General Category States/UTs

• The UT of Dadra & Nagar Haveli(NH) and Daman & Diu is covered under both categories—for urban areas under DBT category and for other areas under non DBT category.

Ranks & Scores Obtained by States/UTs Belonging to Special Categories (North Eastern States, Himalayan States, & the Island Regions)

These states are based on challenges in providing services due to geographical constraints.

Ranks & Scores Obtained by UTs Operating in DBT (Cash Transfer) Mode

Comprehensive Country Level Index

• Due to differences in the scoring criteria, the DBT cash UTs of Chandigarh and Puducherry have not been included in the country level index, instead separate ranks and scores have been computed for these UTs in each category.
• Click here to see the full list of rankings

The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013

It is an act to provide for food and nutritional security in the human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantities of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity. The Act is being implemented in all the States/UTs, and on an all-India basis.

• According to the Act, up to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population are legally entitled to subsidized food grains under TPDS.
• Therefore, the Act covers around two thirds of the population to get highly subsidized food grains.

As a step toward women’s empowerment, the Act requires the eldest woman (18 years or above) in the household to be the head of the household for the purpose of issuing ration cards.

Significance Of an Act Like NFSA

Global food security, which is defined by the availability, accessibility, usage, and stability of food, aims to ensure that everyone has access to the basic foods they need for an active and healthy life.

• The fundamental right to life guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution may be interpreted to include the right to live with human dignity, which may include the right to food and other basic necessities.

Article 21: Protection of Life and Personal Liberty

No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.

Responsibilities Under NFSA

i. NFSA outlines a joint responsibility for the Centre and State/UT Government.

ii.The Centre is given the charge of allocating the necessary food grains to the States/UTs, transporting the food grains up to designated depots in each State/UT, and offering central assistance to States/UTs for delivery of the food grains from designated FCI (Food Corporation of India) godowns to the doorstep of the fair price shops (FPS).

• The States/UTs are in charge of effectively implementing the Act.

iii. It entails identifying eligible households, providing them with ration cards, providing eligible households with food grain entitlements through FPS, granting licences to Fair Price Shop dealers and monitoring them, establishing an efficient grievance redressal mechanism, and necessary strengthening of the TPDS.

Coverage And Entitlement Under NFSA

• In accordance with the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and priority households, NFSA provides coverage of up to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population.
• Since AAY households are the poorest of the poor, they are entitled to 35 kg of food per family per month, while priority households are entitled to 5 kg per person per month.

Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)

i. The National Food Security Act of 2013 provides for reforms to the TPDS, including schemes like cash transfers for the distribution of food benefits.

ii.The DBT experiment intends to(i) reduce the need for huge physical movement of foodgrains, (ii) provide greater autonomy to beneficiaries to choose their consumption basket, (iii) enhance dietary diversity, (iv) reduce leakages, (v) facilitate better targeting, (vi) promote financial inclusion.

iii. Direct Cash Transfer in food was introduced in September 2015 in the UTs of Chandigarh and Puducherry, and in March 2016 in a section of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

• The NFSA is being implemented in these UTs via a cash transfer model, in which eligible households get a direct bank deposit of the subsidy’s cash equivalent, enabling them to buy food grains on the open market.

Click here to know more about NFSA

About Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution:

Union Minister – Piyush Goyal (Rajya Sabha – Maharashtra)
Minister of State (MoS) – Ashwini Kumar Choubey (Buxar Constituency, Bihar); Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti (Fatehpur Constituency, Uttar Pradesh)”